This month, I really wanted to celebrate the humble workshop. Although I have many incredible people lined up for EHM covers for the rest of the year, I felt it was important to dedicate this months’ issue to a concept that anyone can incorporate into their business as well as share with you some of my favourite events from the past year.

Simple but oh so effective, a workshop can be the one thing that gives your business the momentum it needs to reach tipping point.

If you have information to teach in a structured and interactive way, then a workshop is for you. They are great if you have interactive components you want to work through with attendees such as Q&A’s, worksheets and exercises and where you want people to walk away with something that is completed or implementable like an action plan.

They lend themselves to any industry and I swear, if you can teach it - then you can make a workshop out of it! They are also a great low cost way to position yourself as an expert and start building your reputation within the community.

Because you can go as big or as small as you like, you can start off holding workshops for 5 people in a community centre or meeting room, and build your way up to a room of 80 or 150 or more!

And don’t think that running workshops for only 5 people aren’t worth it, they totally are! It’s all about being smart and understanding how an event can benefit your business, regardless of the size.

The beautiful thing about workshops is that they give you these amazing gifts in return for your hard work:

Recognition as an expert

By running workshops in your area of expertise and using your knowledge to take people from A to B, you are positioning yourself in the market as an expert and acting as a beacon of light for those who have lost their way.

This is important for business owners because the more you are seen as a specialist in a certain area, the easier it is to attract ideal clients, fill your books with soul aligned projects and be presented with dream opportunities.

This gorgeous event was the GROW workshop by EH client and this issues beautiful cover girl, Kate Caddle. Photo credits to these and the cover belong to Anne Carolien Kohler

Increased word of mouth recommendations

Once people have attended your workshops and fallen even more in love with you, there will be no stopping them from raving about you in both their social and business circles.

You know that feeling you get when something is just SO good and you have to tell everybody about the amazing experience you had?

Well that’s how people are going to feel about you! Trust me, you will be getting emails coming through every week from people saying that they have heard fabulous things about you and they just had to contact you.

A widened audience

Even though you will come across many people who will want to work with you in some way and support you, not everyone is able, ready or in need of a one on one service with you such as coaching, consulting or having a service completed. By adding events to your list of offerings, you are able to serve people who:

a)Can’t afford to work with you one on one yet

b)Want the information you have in a condensed and immediate manner

c)Need to brush up on skills but don’t need the one on one time

By holding a workshop or event, you open yourself up a whole new audience who may otherwise may not have the opportunity to work with you.

One of the things that I adore about workshops is that it can create the most wonderful connections for everyone in the room that can last a lifetime. I have lost count of all the events I have been too where people are BUZZING with excitement from not just the event content, but also all the amazing people they’ve met.

So it’s not just about the connection between yourself and your attendees, it’s also about everyone getting along like a house on fire and wanting to remain in contact after the event is over.

Providing attendees with the opportunity to connect with like-minded people is an amazing experience that has a hugely positive effect on your brand as a whole.

You become human

Don’t ever discount this, especially in the online world we live in. I have been to and managed countless events where the speaker or host is someone with a large online profile and guests leave the day excitedly talking about how they were just SO nice, and SO easy to talk to and just SO damn normal.

Think about when you met someone you admired and respected from afar for the very first time. Did you get nervous? Did you think they were incredible for spending time with you, laughing with you and patiently answering your questions? Did you think it was amazing how they confessed to having the same fears/worries/experiences as you do? Did you love them even more because on your computer screen they are remarkable but in real life they just made you feel valued and adored?

If you haven’t checked out my article ‘Can you get a 1,940% return with only 15 people in a room? (The answer is yes!)’ yet, come and have a look over HERE. It is super inspiring to see what is possible for your own workshops AND I have more case studies about it in the future with some astounding results.

Workshops can help you gain additional income through:

// Ticket sales

// New clients who want to sign up to your one on one services after attending your event

// The sale of your premium offerings such as a mastermind or an intensive group program

// The sale of your eProducts with event only specials or bundles

// By using your event to promote affiliate opportunities either as a bonus they receive once they sign up with you or as a way to showcase the benefits of the program you are an affiliate for

// And exciting invitations to speak at other events or to hold workshops where you get paid a speaker fee.

There are many ways to be smart and strategic about how you use workshops in your business and there are no hard and fast rules – use them in a way that lights you up!

And I have one last thought to leave you with, remember that workshops in particular are a time to be generous. Share your best information and materials that will help your attendees achieve direct results from being in that room with you.

A workshop is not the time to withhold your best work, allow yourself to shine and share your work with those who need you. The more generous you are, the more connected your audience will be with you and the more your business will benefit.

So here’s a big cheers to the humble workshop, that brings us together, allows us to teach our passions, connect with those we adore and sustain our beautiful businesses.

If you are serious about taking your events to the next level or creating an experience that will wow your guests in all ways possible, my eCourse, Workshop Wonderful, is now open for registrations for a limited time only.

This 8 week program enables you to create purposeful events with powerful outcomes and gives you everything you need to make events a successful and thriving part of your business model. You can check it out HERE and maybe even nab yourself one of the early bird bonuses if you are quick enough! Here's a little sneak peek of what's inside:

If you are running a workshop of your own, we would love to see it! And you never know, you may end up in EHM! Don't forget to keep us updated with your workshops and events, you can email us HERE.